Shelby

PUBLISHERS WEEKLY 4 APR 1994

Filtering coming-of-age angst through the sensibilities of Generation X, McCormack's breezy, comic debut has its share of winning moments. Shelby Lewis is a 20-year-old pre-med student at the University of British Columbia who drops out of school to ``find himself,'' only to discover that the journey is as complex and incomprehensible in the '90s as it was in the '50s and '60s. Shelby's no slacker: he's concerned with saving the world, having sex and finding a partner (and the perilous difference between the two) and with obtaining meaningful employment. Post-pubescent anxiety dominates the narrative, as the young hero masturbates a lot, plays in a wretched thrash band named ``Smegma Bomb!'' and finds a lover, a chain-smoking, 30-something stripper and psychic named Lucy. McCormack has a fine ear for comic dialogue, and his light shots at the foibles of Shelby's contemporaries ring true. The tongue-in-cheek earnestness of his writing is perfect for the material, although the plot gets a bit static and he pushes some scenes to the point of terminal cuteness. The most satisfying passages, in fact, deal with Shelby's attempts to come to grips with both the death of his grandmother and the effects on his family of his dropping out. McCormack establishes himself here as a writer with potential; it will be interesting to see if he can go beyond the limitations of a coming-of-age debut. Film rights to Waving Productions.